Pattison - Takeaway Favourites Without the Calories : Low-Calorie Recipes, Cheats and Ideas From Around the World

Low-calorie recipes, cheats and ideas
from around the world

introduction

MY STORY

I struggled with my weight for years. After being a skinny child and teenager, I piled on the weight during my last years of school and went into my twenties feeling fat and frumpy. A career as a cookery writer and food stylist has helped me understand good food but because my kitchen is always overflowing with great things to eat, temptation is never far away. My weight yo-yoed for twenty years and at my heaviest I weighed more than 15 stone.

A few years ago, I worked on the hit TV series You Are What You Eat I put together those groaning tables of bad food. I also had the chance to work with the contributors on the show, guiding them through the dieting process and helping them discover a whole new way of eating and cooking. Having been overweight myself, I became passionate about helping people lose weight.

Since then, Ive worked as a food consultant on many of the weight loss shows youve seen on TV, and written diet plans and recipes for best-selling books, newspapers and magazines. Im so proud that thousands of people have successfully followed my way of cooking and lost weight.

This book, and the others in the Without the Calories series, are ideal for anyone who wants to lose weight while leading a normal life. Cooking these recipes will help you sustain a happy, healthy weight loss. Thats what its all about: you dont have to be stick thin, but you deserve to feel good about yourself. My Without the Calories recipes will help you reach your goal.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Its rare to find someone who doesnt love a rich, spicy curry, a crisp pizza oozing with melted cheese or piping hot fish and chips straight out of the fryer, and our high streets are teeming with takeaway restaurants offering dishes for instant gratification. But if youre already carrying more weight than youd like, or simply want to eat more healthily, takeaway food can be a nutritional disaster.

In this book, Ive picked popular takeaway dishes and reworked the ingredients and cooking methods to cut the calories and help you lose weight in the most delicious and simple way possible. Youll find everything from a creamy chicken korma to super-quick pizzas and succulent burgers, all given a low-calorie workout without losing their appeal.

Im not going to make rash promises about how many pounds my alternative recipes will help you shed, but I do know that when it comes to losing weight, finding foods that give you pleasure and fit into your lifestyle are the key to success. When you eat well without obsessing over rapid weight loss, its easier to relax and lose what you need to comfortably and safely.

To help everyone enjoy these reinvented dishes, Ive used easy-to-find ingredients and given clear, simple cooking instructions. Theres lots of freezer information included, so you know which dishes you can store safely for another day.

If youre already following a diet plan, youll find additional nutritional information at the back of the book thatll help you work my recipes into your week. And, if youre stuck for inspiration and have a few pounds to lose, try my 123 Plan it couldnt be easier.

USING THE 123 PLAN

If youre not following a diet regime at the moment and want a great kick-start, try my 123 Plan for a few weeks. Ive tried to make it really easy, and you dont need to do too much adding up. Just pick one recipe from any section to bring your daily intake to between 900 and 1,200 calories. Add an essential extra 300 calories a day and youll be on your way to a healthy, sustainable weight loss of between 23lbs a week.

ONE

up to calories

TWO

300400 calories

THREE

400500 calories

YOUR ESSENTIAL EXTRAS

These extra 300 calories can be made up of accompaniments, such as potatoes, rice and pasta, as well as snacks or treats; there are suggestions and serving sizes . Youll also find recipes that contain under 200 calories per portion, which can be included as part of your essential extras. As long as your extras dont exceed 300 calories a day, youll be on track.

WHEN TO EAT

The 123 Plan is flexible, so if you find you fancy a ONE or TWO recipe rather than a THREE as your third meal of the day, just add enough calories to bring it into the right range. Dont worry if the calculations arent absolutely accurate a difference of 25 or less calories per serving wont affect your weekly allowance.

You dont have to eat your lightest meal for breakfast and the most calorific meal late in the day in fact, the opposite often works best. I tend to eat my largest meal at lunchtime if I can, and have a lighter meal in the evening, but work with what suits you and your family best.

If you want to add your own favourite meals into the plan, just make sure they are within the recommended calorie boundaries and calculate accordingly. (You may find this useful when planning breakfast especially.)

DONT RUSH IT

Weight tends to be gained over time, and losing it gradually will make the process easier and help give your body, especially your skin, time to adapt. Youre more likely to get into positive, enjoyable long-term cooking and eating habits this way too.

WHAT IS A CALORIE?

Put simply, a calorie is a unit of energy contained within food and drink which our bodies burn as fuel. Different foods contain varying amounts of calories and if more calories are consumed than the body needs, the excess will be stored as fat. To lose weight, we need to eat less or use more energy by increasing our activity and ideally both!

Ive provided the calorie content of a single serving of each dish. In my experience, most people will lose at least 2lb a week by consuming around 1,2001,500 calories a day, but its always best to check with your GP before you start a new regime. Everyone is different and, especially if you have several stones to lose, youll need some personalised advice. The calories contained in each recipe have been calculated as accurately as possible, but could vary a little depending on your ingredients.

A few wayward calories here and there wont make any difference to your overall weight loss. If you have a couple of days of eating more than 1,400 calories, try to eat closer to 1,100 for the next few days. Over a week, things will even out.

My recipes strike a balance between eating and cooking well and reducing calories, and Ive tried them all as part of my own way of enjoying food without putting on excess weight. Even if you dont need to lose weight, I hope you enjoy cooking from my books simply because you like the recipes.